House files motion vs SC ruling on Sara Duterte impeachment

Vice President Sara Duterte — Photo from Inday Sara Duterte/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives formalized its bid to overturn the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision on the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte by filing a motion for reconsideration on Monday.

In a statement, the House confirmed that it had filed the motion seeking to reverse the SC ruling, which declared the fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte unconstitutional.

“With utmost respect for the Constitution, in defense of institutional balance, and in the name of the Filipino people whom we are sworn to represent, the House of Representatives today filed a Motion for Reconsideration before the Supreme Court of the Philippines,” the House said.

“This is not an act of defiance or disrespect. It is an exercise in constitutional stewardship—an affirmation that every branch must act with fidelity to the Charter that gives us all our power,” it added. “We act not to provoke a clash of institutions, but to prevent the erosion of the people’s right to accountability.”

SC spokesperson Camille Ting announced on July 25 that the articles of impeachment forwarded by the House to the Senate were deemed unconstitutional for violating the 1987 Constitution’s one-year bar rule.

On February 5, Duterte was impeached after 215 members of the House of Representatives from the 19th Congress filed and signed a fourth complaint.

The complaint was based on allegations of misuse of confidential funds in her offices, threats against ranking officials, and other possible violations of the constitution.

The articles of impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate on the same day, in accordance with the 1987 Constitution, which mandates that a trial must begin promptly if at least one-third of all House members—or 102 out of 306—endorse the complaint.

In February, two petitions seeking to halt the impeachment complaints against Duterte were filed before the SC. One of the petitions came from a group of Mindanao-based lawyers who argued that the House failed to observe constitutional rules requiring it to act on filed impeachment complaints within 10 session days.

The first impeachment complaint was filed in December 2024 but was only referred to the House Committee on Rules on February 5.

READ: Petition to stop impeachment trial vs VP Duterte filed at Supreme Court

The House, however, asserted in its reply to the Supreme Court that all impeachment complaints were acted upon within the required 10 session days, emphasizing that “session days” should not be confused with “calendar days” or “working days.”